Saturday, June 22, 2013

Book says men are on strike

The men's rights movement seems to have split between the reformers and the drop-outs. The reformers want to change family law to give a better shake to fathers, and use political action, persuasion, social science research, etc.

The drop-outs sometimes use the phrase Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW). The idea is that if marriage is a lousy deal for men, then the simplest solution is to just not get married.

Henry Laasanen describes the split slightly differently, and says that the manosphere is divided between the traditionalists, equalists, and individualists. So the reformers could seek a return to the traditional family or an egalitarian society, and the individualists go their own way.

Dr. Helen: The basic message of the book is that the rewards for men in the fields of marriage, education, career and fatherhood are a lot less than they used to be, and the costs and dangers are higher. So, they’re opting out. ...

EJ: Where did you and feminism part ways?

Dr. Helen: As I worked with more men, and with the schools and court systems, I realized the discrimination against men and how little was being done about it. The feminists of today want special privileges while men continue to have responsibilities. This is wrong and is no better than discrimination against women.

I never considered this blog to be a men's rights blog. My main objection is to how the family court tries to run people's lives. I have seen women getting badly treated also. I speak up for parent's rights, whether they be moms or dads. I am a dad, and most of the victims are dads, so I write about dads more.

Dr. Helen accurately describes how marriage and family have become a lousy deal for men. I don't think that she is really advocating going Galt, as she ends with a whole list of ways men can work to improve the system.

The leftoid Huff Post editors complained about same-sex marriage, inserted the word "straight" in the headline, and added a footnote saying that it is still okay for gay men to get married. It is funny how they want to promote same-sex marriage at the same time they work to destroy heterosexual marriage.

10. Marriage provides no rights or rewards, only responsibilities. The current institution of marriage offers little in the way of incentive for men and a great deal of disincentive. Do the term "marital rights" of men and "marital duties" of women even make sense anymore? Were it not for religion and societal inertia, marriage would already be a dead institution.